I love that while Ripley is a remorseless killer, he doesn't kill for fun or to scratch an itch. You can watch him calmly contemplating killing Marge when she find Dickie's rings, but he's just as happy not to when the conclusion she draws doesn't incriminate him. It's a fine line to walk both in writing and in performing. And emphasizing that he moves through a world of small scale liars, confidence men and people on the make at lots of levels (including the detective who is happy to say his wife is from whatever town will help him bond with someone he's questioning, and Marge herself, who distrusts Tom from the beginning but is happy to turn her manuscript over to him when she hears he may have publishing connections) changes and enriches the overall meaning and texture of the entire project.
Thanks for reminding me to watch the rest of Ripley! I find Netflix does sometimes create some gems. I started watching the romantic drama One Day on a whim. Never usually watch that genre. I was hooked. Watched the whole thing to the end. I think - as with Ripley - it helps if the source content is high quality. I discovered after watching One Day that it was based on a very popular novel. Perhaps the Netflix execs are more inclined to trust the writers when they're working with something already proven, and they're less likely to push for their tried-and-tested but also tired and hackneyed formulas.
Great video thanks! Loved Ripley, so much to take from it. What's your view on the character Freddie? The fact the only character Ripley can't read/control is portrait by a nonbinary actor was interesting.
Yeah I loved how they reinterpreted Freddie in this version. That’s a cool idea that Ripley developed skills for both men and women but wasn’t able to deal with someone who was non-binary
I also found taking "talented" out of the title interesting. The movie version is implied to be talented, he plays classical music, impersonates well, picks language quickly. A lot of these traits are shared by the series version. I actually think the series emphasizes way more than the movie how talented Ripley actually is. It's explicitly shown how Ripley is more talented than Dickie in painting, more talented than Marge in writing, very quick at picking up not only Italian but Sicilian dialect, he in fact is deeply moved by Mina's music and Caravaggio. Damon Ripley came to like Jazz but never had an affinity with it. Despite the crimes having to be reactive, i think the final act of trickery was very clever with forethought. That letter to the landlady was planted quite ahead of time. The series does emphasise however just how difficult it is to get rid of a body, hence it may seem like series Ripley is a little less "competent".
I’m so glad you brought up his editing and language skills! He’s even able to speak Italian slightly differently depending on whether he’s being Tom or Dickie.
What is you favorite modern TV show?
Succession. Love these essays and going to give Ripley a shot!
I recently heard that was the best show of the last 10 years I need to watch that
Thanks for the heads up!
The Wire. I have seen it more than 10 times.
Same! I must have rewatched the wire more than any other show, except maybe early Simpsons seasons
I love that while Ripley is a remorseless killer, he doesn't kill for fun or to scratch an itch. You can watch him calmly contemplating killing Marge when she find Dickie's rings, but he's just as happy not to when the conclusion she draws doesn't incriminate him. It's a fine line to walk both in writing and in performing. And emphasizing that he moves through a world of small scale liars, confidence men and people on the make at lots of levels (including the detective who is happy to say his wife is from whatever town will help him bond with someone he's questioning, and Marge herself, who distrusts Tom from the beginning but is happy to turn her manuscript over to him when she hears he may have publishing connections) changes and enriches the overall meaning and texture of the entire project.
Thanks for reminding me to watch the rest of Ripley! I find Netflix does sometimes create some gems. I started watching the romantic drama One Day on a whim. Never usually watch that genre. I was hooked. Watched the whole thing to the end. I think - as with Ripley - it helps if the source content is high quality. I discovered after watching One Day that it was based on a very popular novel. Perhaps the Netflix execs are more inclined to trust the writers when they're working with something already proven, and they're less likely to push for their tried-and-tested but also tired and hackneyed formulas.
Great video thanks! Loved Ripley, so much to take from it. What's your view on the character Freddie? The fact the only character Ripley can't read/control is portrait by a nonbinary actor was interesting.
Yeah I loved how they reinterpreted Freddie in this version. That’s a cool idea that Ripley developed skills for both men and women but wasn’t able to deal with someone who was non-binary
I also found taking "talented" out of the title interesting. The movie version is implied to be talented, he plays classical music, impersonates well, picks language quickly. A lot of these traits are shared by the series version. I actually think the series emphasizes way more than the movie how talented Ripley actually is. It's explicitly shown how Ripley is more talented than Dickie in painting, more talented than Marge in writing, very quick at picking up not only Italian but Sicilian dialect, he in fact is deeply moved by Mina's music and Caravaggio. Damon Ripley came to like Jazz but never had an affinity with it. Despite the crimes having to be reactive, i think the final act of trickery was very clever with forethought. That letter to the landlady was planted quite ahead of time. The series does emphasise however just how difficult it is to get rid of a body, hence it may seem like series Ripley is a little less "competent".
Yeah perhaps it’s simply more realistic so even being talented you also need some luck to pull off what he does
I’m so glad you brought up his editing and language skills! He’s even able to speak Italian slightly differently depending on whether he’s being Tom or Dickie.
Hmm you have too few views. 😆Thank you for your analysis.
I don’t agree though that Ripley isn’t talented. I think his talent is just more realistic.